Nearly 200 people attend a rally Saturday at the Oklahoma Capitol in Oklahoma City to support Oklahoma House Bill 1556 by Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, R-Moore, that would place regulations on the use of drones in the state.

Joanne Francisco, one of several people who came to a state Capitol rally Saturday with a face mask, said the encroachment of government on
her 4th Amendment right to privacy, such as the possible use of drones to spy on individuals, is a growing concern.

“Government is getting too intrusive, nosy,”
said Francisco, of Tulsa. “How do we know when our rights have been infringed upon? We can see a peeping Tom outside our window, but we
can’t necessarily see when we’re being spied on by a drone.”

The article highlights statements by Ryan Kiesel, Director of the Oklahoma ACLU, Amie Stepanovich, legal counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center and an expert in government surveillance, and Amanda Teegarden, Exec. Director of OK-SAFE, Oklahomans for Sovereignty and Free Enterprise.

HB1559 by Rep. Paul Wesselhoft would prohibit the state Public Safety Department from installing Radio Frequency Identification tracking technology in a driver’s license or state-issued identification card.

What is RFID? Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chipsare very small information technology devices that are attached or embedded into anything that needs to be tracked or identified.RFID is great for tracking of objects, goods, and inventory.

In 2007, the Govt. Accountability Office official warned that:

“Once a particular individual is identified through an RFID tag, personally identifiable information can be retrieved from any number of sources and then aggregated to develop a profile of the individual. Both tracking and profiling can compromise an individual’s privacy”

HB1559 has been sent to the House Transportation Committee. However, the Chairman of the committee, Rep. Charlie Joyner, refuses to schedule the bill to be heard (which is very odd since he voted FOR this very same piece of legislation in the past!)

Please email or call Rep. Joyner the member of the Transportation Committee and ask that he please give HB1559 a hearing. Do this right away! If this bill is not scheduled on Tuesday Feb. 26-it will die.

Despite the uncomfortable level of political division among Americans, there are still issues that bring us together.

This legislative session the left and right are pulling together for privacy. I couldn’t be more excited about this development becuase when the battle between our right to privacy and big corporation’s desire to make money intersect, our numbers are everything.

On Sat. Feb. 23rd at the Oklahoma State Capitol, we will have an opportunity to assemble and to demonstrate those numbers and make it very clear to our elected representatives that Oklahomans expect their privacy rights to be respected!

Unlikely groups join forces to support privacy bills

The Oklahoma Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union along with Rep. Paul Wesselhoft held a joint press conference at the State Capitol Tuesday to explain the three bills aimed at protecting the privacy rights of Oklahomans.

House Bill 1559: The first bill would prohibit the Department of Public Safety from installing RFID radio frequency identification in a driver’s license.

House Bill 1557: Another bill would require law enforcement, absent an emergency, to first obtain a warrant before they access the geo-location data stored by a cell phone.

House Bill 1556: Finally, the third bill would limit the ability of law enforcement to use drones for surveillance without a warrant.

The latest story about Texas school children being tagged and tracked with active RFID tracking devices (the passive variety is considered “a little less Big Brotherish.”) has caused some controversy. We are told that this is no big deal, that the RFID tracking simply allows the school to more efficiently do what it already does-take attendance and keep track of students whose safety and well-being is entrusted to the school by parents. But there is much more going on here and the issue deserves to be examined in a broader context.

Here is an excellent article by David Rosen of AlterNet that pulls together a variety of news relating to the tracking and surveillance of students. If you are even slightly uncomfortable about the implementation of these high tech schemes being unleashed on our children, you should read every word of this article which provides some much needed context to the individual stories that trickle down to us from time to time.

These children are the leaders of tomorrow and their experiences at school help serve to fix the values that they will carry with them into adulthood and they are being immersed in an environment saturated with sensors designed to supervise, control and correct them. (Here are some other objections to student RFID tracking)

Rosen’s article covers RFID and GPS tracking, electronic monitoring devices being used on kids to combat obesity in New York, electronic monitoring of calories consumed in school cafeterias, networked CCTV systems that are directly accessible to police and disturbing abuse of student privacy through CCTV cameras, school computers that use cameras to remotely spy on students in their own homes, federal funding of school surveillance and more.

Few parents or children are fully aware of the scope of the tracking and surveillance now going on in American schools. Three simple questions need to be addressed: What is happening to all the personal data captured about the students? How long it is being retained? And are school administrators providing it to law enforcement authorities or commercial vendors?

Are you OK with tracking kids via active RFID chips at school? Some kids and parents in Texas are NOT OK with it and they are holding their ground. (article below)

Here are some of the objections parents and students might have against wearing and RFID tracking device (from Position Paper on the Use of RFID in Schools dated August 21, 2012 signed by a wide variety of civil liberties advocates);
• Dehumanizing uses: While there is an expectation of supervision and guidance in schools, monitoring the detailed behaviors of individuals can be demeaning. For example, RFID reading devices in school restrooms could monitor how long a student or teacher spends in a bathroom stall.
• Violation of free speech and association. RFID tracking software can monitor associations of RFID tags, which could dissuade individuals from exercising their rights to freedom of thought, speech and association. For example, students might avoid seeking counsel when they know their RFID tags will document their presence at locations like counselor and School Resource Officer (SRO) offices.
• Violation of conscience and religious freedom. Many individuals object to RFID systems on the basis of their deeply held philosophical or religious beliefs. Schools are required to make accommodations for students on the basis of these beliefs.
• Unauthorized use. While RFID systems may be developed for use in a school, the RFID tags may be read covertly anywhere by anyone with the right reading device. Since RFID reading devices work by silent, invisible radio waves and the reading devices can be hidden, unauthorized or covert uses can be nearly impossible to detect. In addition, information collected on systems could be shared or compromised without individuals’ knowledge or consent. For example, a student’s location could be monitored from a distance by a jealous
girlfriend or boyfriend, stalker, or pedophile. Individuals run this tracking risk any place they carry or wear a school-issued RFID tagged item—even miles from the campus.

The “Student Locator Project,” which is slated to eventually reach 112 Texas schools and close to 100,000 students, is in trial stages in two Northside district schools. In an effort to reduce truancy, the district has issued new student IDs with an embedded radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip that tracks the location of a student at all times.

The program officially launched October 1 at John Jay High School and Anson Jones Middle School. Without the badges — required to be worn around the neck — students cannot access common areas like the cafeteria or library, and cannot purchase tickets to extracurricular activities. WND reports that the district has threatened to suspend, fine or involuntarily transfer students who fail to comply and officials have noted that “there will be consequences for refusal to wear an ID card as we begin to move forward with full implementation.”

RFID, or radio frequency identification (also known as near field communication, or NFC) is used for wireless communication between devices, one of which is a transmitter and the other is a receiver. This involves the use of low frequency radio waves passing between the devices; it is in widespread use, although the impact on health is rarely alluded to. RFID is being used for a multitude of applications involving sensing and communication of information, especially ID verification using smart cards/phones, miniscule sensors known as smart dust, bodily implants, and product tracking.

There are already many well-established ID Management companies who are also using or advocating RFID and biometrics. These companies are heavily involved in the emerging global identity ecosystem (eg, the NSTIC program, the work of the ITU, and the European initiatives, including STORK), and include Accenture, IBM, Verisign/Symantec and Oracle. The industry has grown significantly and the trend looks set to continue – especially considering the heavy investment by leading corporations like Google, IBM, and Microsoft.

The smart card industry is playing a leading role in identity management, indicating that in the near future the public will expect to manage their digitised identity with extrinsic devices such as contactless cards and mobile phones.

In Denver, for instance, Auraria Higher Education Center recently decided to issue new contactless smart cards to students (over 43,000 of them), and to staff. The cards will control door access using RFID, and will even serve as Visa debit cards. The plan is to eventually integrate the cards with other applications for student services, including parking, meal payment, library checkout, event management, emergency incidents, and lab and recreational tracking.

At the Rally for Healthcare Independence held at the Oklahoma State Capitol on July 7, 2012, Amanda Teegarden, Exec. Director of OK-SAFE Oklahomans for Sovereignty and Free Enterprise, listed some of the injuries and usurpation committed by our elected officials. These are all worth a closer look and I have taken the liberty of adding links that reinforce or expand on the points she made.

2. “Our officials have continued to grow government by the establishment of an ever increasing number of authorities, boards, commissions and trusts. These are called the ABC’s. These unelected bodies consist of people appointed from a small pool of political insiders. These entities meet in private and make rules that govern the rest of us, favor their friends with contracts, they are accountable to no one and do not represent or serve the people of Oklahoma. These unelected bodies can solicit and receive federal grants, award contracts, issue bonds and incur debt that the rest of us have to guarantee.”

(ABC’s Click on the picture below if you would like to take a gander at the mind boggling number of Agencies, Boards and Commissions that exist in our state to manage just about every facet of our lives.)

3. “Our Elected officials, while claiming to be for limited government and reduced taxation, have worked to increase the size and scope of state government by implementation of something called Public-Private Partnerships. This corrupt ménage-a-trois is the model for the so-called New Economy – it marries Government with Industry and Academia. This European model is exclusionary in practice and is funded by the backs of the people in the form increased government spending and taxes, bonds, and tax credits for the government partners.
4.“Our Elected officials have increased the financial burden of the people of Oklahoma by approving ever-increasing state budgets – now at a whopping $6.8 billion for 2012.”
5. ‘Our Elected officials have levied taxes in a stealth manner – calling them fees instead. One such fee increased by 300% in one fell swoop. Officials justified this action by stating that “the fee had not been increased in a while”’

6. “Our Elected officials have continued to grow government by the establishment of an ever increasing number of A, B, Cs – Authorities, Boards, Commissions, and Trusts.-These unelected bodies consist of people appointed from a small pool of political insiders. These entities meet in private, make rules that govern the rest of us, favor their friends with contracts. They are accountable to no one, and do not represent or serve the People of Oklahoma.– These unelected bodies can solicit and receive federal grants, award contracts, issue bonds, and incur debt that the rest of us have to guarantee.– One such entity is the Oklahoma Health Information Exchange Trust, or OHIET. Have you ever heard of the OHIET? They’re busy laying the foundation for “ObamaCare” in the state of OK, using Stimulus money and federal grants to do so, awarding contracts to companies their members have vested interests in.-Authorities, Boards, Commissions, and Trusts are the unelected “fourth branch of government” – advancing the interests of the rich and powerful, not the people of Oklahoma.”
7. “Agents and Agencies of our State Government are busy Reinventing that traditional institution – transforming the state of Oklahoma from a representative Republic -a government of, for, and by the people – toward a “Governance” model. The state and its agencies are to be managed by a “technocratic elite” for the use and benefit of certain corporations and the progressives in both parties.
–This reinvention is being spearheaded by at least one recently instituted cabinet position – namely the Office of the Chief Information Officer. This agency is busy consolidating and concentrating power into the hands of a very few agents. Welcome to Government 2.0! Welcome to Technocracy! Governance by “Experts”!”
8. “This state has entered into information-sharing compacts that allow the transmittal of highly personal information about you – your health, school, and work, your life and lifestyle choices, how many fruits and vegetables you eat and whether or not you exercise. This information is being shared across jurisdictions, across state lines, with the federal government, and with others unknown to us. All without the people’s informed consent.”

The assaults on Liberty continue with:
9. The stealth implementation of the REAL ID Act, creating a de-facto national – no, international -identification card, one that requires:– The collection of personally identifiable biometric information– Facial recognition quality photos on our drivers licenses and IDs– And by refusing to pass the legislation that would have prohibited RFID tags in the OK drivers licenses!10. “The forced installation of Smart Meters on our homes, in furtherance of the global Smart Grid-These meters serve to monitor every activity inside our homes.11. Oklahoma State officials have now allowed DRONEs to fly over Oklahoma – for surveillance of its own people. This is an inappropriate use of the military’s war fighting surveillance technologies. We are not the enemy! Those same officials are praising the deployment of drones on U.S. soil as evidence of ‘job creation'”
12. “Our Elected officials just this year put a cap on the use of freshwater in this state. Called the Water for 2060 Act, this law says that “the public policy of this state is to establish and work toward a goal of consuming no more fresh water in the year 2060 than is consumed statewide in the year 2012”; How are we to live, grow and prosper with such an egregious and arbitrary cap on freshwater usage?”
13. “Finally, our elected officials have been implementing, while denying that they are doing so, all the provisions of “ObamaCare” in the state of Oklahoma.”

They have allowed for the creation and advancement of an electronic health record on every single person, whether they wanted one or not.– This electronic health record begins at birth with an electronic birth certificate, tracks us through school, into our work, and makes record of our lifestyle choices – virtually our every activity. This record continues until we’re dead, making “health care reform” truly cradle-to-grave.– Health care reform allows for “human subject research” without the knowledge or the informed consent of the person.– These electronic health records link the patient, the provider and the payer together – in a nationwide – correction! In a global health information network.– Our Elected officials have continued to work to establish an “ObamaCare” insurance exchange in Oklahoma. These insurance exchanges completely redesign the insurance industry market and insert a middle man into the traditional business model. The end result will be increased costs for all of us.– Our Elected officials have claimed that they can establish a “state-based exchange”, one that is different from the federal government’s version. What they are not telling the people is that there is only one way an exchange will work – and that is the federal way. Oklahoma has been laying the groundwork for this for years – is it likely they’ll abandon that now?– Despite the people saying NO to the exchanges, there are still those who continue to press for their establishment in this state.

Most of us don’t think much about it, but the truth is that people are being watched, tracked and monitored more today than at any other time in human history. The explosive growth of technology in recent years has given governments, spy agencies and big corporations monitoring tools that the despots and dictators of the past could only dream of. Previous generations never had to deal with “pre-crime” surveillance cameras that use body language to spot criminals or unmanned drones watching them from far above. Previous generations would have never even dreamed that street lights and refrigerators might be spying on them. Many of the incredibly creepy surveillance technologies that you are about to read about are likely to absolutely astound you. We are rapidly heading toward a world where there will be no such thing as privacy anymore. Big Brother is becoming all-pervasive, and thousands of new technologies are currently being developed that will make it even easier to spy on you. The world is changing at a breathtaking pace, and a lot of the changes are definitely not for the better.

The following are 14 incredibly creepy surveillance technologies that Big Brother will soon be using to watch you….

In this post I raise two issues related to RFID and medical devices. RFID is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify people or objects.

One of these issues you shouldn’t worry about but the other might be cause for concern.

Although the assertion that the Affordable Care Act mandates that the majority of people receive a RFID chip implant has been soundly debunked but there has been a resurgence in the hoax. It is concerning to see that otherwise cautious and credible people are falling for it and perpetuating this disinformation. As I have stated elsewhere, creditability is essential and it is an all or nothing kind of a deal.

Here is the basic claim being made;

The Obama Health care bill under Class II (Paragraph 1, Section B) specifically includes ‘‘(ii) a class II device that is implantable.” Then on page 1004 it describes what the term “data” means in paragraph 1, section B:

‘‘(B) In this paragraph, the term ‘data’ refers to in
formation respecting a device described in paragraph (1), including claims data, patient survey data, standardized analytic files that allow for the pooling and analysis of data from disparate data environments, electronic health records, and any other data deemed appropriate by the Secretary”

What exactly is a class II device that is implantable? Lets see…

Approved by the FDA, a class II implantable device is a “implantable radiofrequency transponder system for patient identification and health information.” The purpose of a class II device is to collect data in medical patients such as “claims data, patient survey data, standardized analytic files that allow for the pooling and analysis of data from disparate data environments, electronic health records, and any other data deemed appropriate by the Secretary.”

This sort of device would be implanted in the majority of people who opt to become covered by the public health care option.

The claim is faulty from the get go. Although implantable RFID chips are a Class II device, the aren’t the only implantable device that is a Class II medical device.

In the United States, medical devices are regulated by the FED, the Food and Drug Administration. Medical devices can be defined as any physical item useful for diagnostic, monitoring, or therapeutic purposes.

There are three classes of medical devices. Devices are regulated according to their intended use and by level of risk posed to the patient with a Class I device being the most lightly regulated due their non invasive nature and slimmer possibility for harming a person and Class III being the most heavily regulated. link Examples of Class I devices include bandages and hand held surgical instruments. Examples of Class II medical devices includes dental fillings, sutures, and yes, RFID implantable chips.

RFID chips are only one example of a Class II implantable device.

What is a Class II medical device?

Class II devices have a higher potential to cause harm and require both general and special controls, such as special labeling, mandatory performance standards, and postmarket surveillance. These devices are typically nonimplanted, although some are partially invasive. Examples include x-ray machines, wheelchairs, infusion pumps, and surgical needles. Link

Also, the original (HR 3200) bill did not mandate that anyone must have anything implanted. the language was actually proposing a national registry of medical devices and furthermore this language was not included in the version (HR 3590) of the bill that actually passed into law. A registry of medical devices certainly could be something to worry about but that is not what is being addressed by the above claims that are being passed from person to person around like a bad rash.

Mark Lerner, co-founder of the Constitutional Alliance, researched the issue and provides this statement on his findings regarding the matter;

I have been asked if RFID (chips) implants are mandated as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR3590, Public Law 111-148) often referred to as “Obamacare”. The answer is “No”.

An earlier version of the legislation (HR3200, 111th Congress) did allow for class II devices that are “implantable” but that legislation never made it out of the House of Representatives.

You can do the same for HR3200 and find out that HR3200 never was passed, much less signed into law. If you follow the directions I have provided you will be able to read and do a word search for the word “implantable”in both of the pieces of legislation and determine the last Congressional action taken.

I want to say unequivocally there are times when incorrect information is shared not because people intentionally are attempting to mislead others but rather because we do not always do our homework before passing on emails and other information. Let the man or woman or has never shared erroneous information come forward today and you will find nobody including myself that has not committed this error.”

Now here is an issue that involves RFID and medical device that may warrant some legitimate concern;

The medical manufacturing and health-care industries have 120 days to comment on the new rules, which will require many medical devices to carry a printed text identification number and bar-code label or RFID tag ID that would be stored on an FDA database.

The concern is that medical devices that are either worn or implanted into a person that carry a unique identification number whether it be by bar code, RFID or simply text printed on the device-is traceable and could be combined with other personal data. I find the idea, on its face, to be worrisome and will be doing some addition reading on this issue.

For more information on the privacy problems with item level RFID tagging, read;

Janice Kephart, Director of National Security Policy with the Center for Immigration Studies put out her yearly progress report on Real ID. Real ID opponents fairly bristled at the glowing portrayal she gives of the highly unpopular biometric identification card scheme.

We know that 25 states passed either a law or resolution against implementing the Real ID Act but if you read Ms. Kephart’s report, you might wonder just what all the fuss was about since she claims that,

“Overall the report finds that there is substantial compliance sought across the board by all states and territories. . .”

Michigan Representative, Paul Opsommer, answers back,

“We do not see ‘tremendous value’ in pursuing ‘REAL ID standards’ as this report attempts to assert,” said Opsommer. “These are state policy positions we are pursuing on our own, irrespective of REAL ID.”

Janice Kephart is so dedicated to the Real ID cause that she even dropped by my little blog recently to reassure readers that

“There is no national ID here. Not even close.”

What a relief! After years of study and worry about Real ID being a national, no! An international ID, to be precise, I can finally rest easy because I have it on good authority that Real ID is no such thing by Ms. Kephart.

Sarcasm aside, at least Kephart is not trying to hide the hated Real ID behind the cute little star that is gracing the face of state driver’s licenses that meet the federal standards imposed by Real ID which would indicate to most that their Real ID or “STAR ID” card, is indeed a national ID. Some of these same astute Americans will tell you that the national standards imposed by Real ID on state driver’s licenses and ID cards, are also international standards leading them to the conclusion that not only is Real ID a national ID, it is also qualifies as an international ID as noted by a knowledgeable reader of AxXiom For Liberty in his response to Ms. Kephart,

International standards, international organizations and an international organization named a “hub” and “backbone” in the Final Rules issued by DHS in January 2008, HMMM!

Janice Kephart’s progress report on Real ID, while it is a very helpful guide for loyal opponents to the Real ID Act in helping to flush out the state’s that have either followed the will of the people or betrayed them by forging ahead with the Act that was formally opposed in 25 states, also does a grave disservice by claiming achievements for Real ID that it doesn’t deserve as Rep. Opsommer illustrates in his response to Kephart’s ‘REAL ID Implementation Annual Report‘

Michigan State Representative and House Transportation Chair Paul Opsommer (R-DeWitt) said that a recent report put out by the Center for Immigration Studies, titled the ‘REAL ID Implementation Annual Report’, misrepresents the notion of ‘compliance’ and actually makes the case that the federal law that would turn driver’s licenses into national ID cards is not needed.

“We do not see ‘tremendous value’ in pursuing ‘REAL ID standards’ as this report attempts to assert,” said Opsommer. “These are state policy positions we are pursuing on our own, irrespective of REAL ID.”

Before REAL ID was passed in Washington by dubious methods, there was already a negotiated rule making process going on with the states to make sure they were not giving driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, and that licenses were made out of tamper-resistant materials from secure card production facilities.

“REAL ID not only repealed that process, but did so in a way that creates a national ID card that puts unelected federal bureaucrats permanently in charge of wireless computer chip, facial recognition technology, fingerprint, and foreign data sharing decisions,” said Opsommer. “For cheerleaders of this national ID card campaign to highlight that states continue to pursue secure standards on their own, even in those states that have not authorized REAL ID or have passed laws opposing it, as somehow indicative of mass acceptance or compliance is nothing more than a public relations gambit.”